An Apology Too Tempting to Refuse
An apology too tempting to refuse.
"Landor!!!"
I was deep in discussion with Karl Hansen about how to accelerate the cultivation of the Golden Plains when Karia suddenly burst through the door, her voice thick with fury.
"Look at this!!!"
She thrust several flyers in front of me. Each one bore a ridiculously crude illustration of my face.
"What is this?"
"They’re circulating through the capital right now. Every single one is slandering you!"
The flyers were drawn with obvious malice, yet the accusations they contained were not lies.
That bastard Landor……
They listed every crime the original Landor had committed before I took over this body—cold, undeniable facts.
"The Vineyard Party, I presume," Karl Hansen said at once.
I knew it too. The Vineyard Party. Duke Pellings. While the entire empire disliked me, these were the ones who hated me most.
Unlike Selene and Adran, who shared my goal of strengthening the empire, Duke Pellings was cut from the same cloth as the old Landor—someone who wanted to seize the empire for himself and gorge on its wealth.
"This stings. My reputation in the capital is about to plummet. The nobles there will look at me with open hostility."
"Then the Vineyard Party it is!! I’ll lead the Iron Blood Coalition right now and—"
"Your Highness, please calm down. This isn’t something we can solve with force."
I steadied Karia. This was bad. Very bad.
I studied the flyers in silence.
Two main accusations stood out.
First, that I had used the power I gained by staying close to the emperor to swindle and fleece the capital nobles.
Second, that I had beaten and imprisoned every official who opposed the passage of laws favorable to me.
The nobles who had been swindled mostly belonged to Selene’s faction. Those who had been flogged and jailed for speaking out mostly belonged to Adran’s faction.
"If this goes wrong, the nobles of both factions could boycott me as a group. They might even deliberately sabotage my businesses."
I had already shown my sincerity to Adran and Selene, but not yet to the nobles under them. If faction sentiment turned sharply against me, those two would have no choice but to turn on me as well.
If the furious administrative officials and the nobles who controlled technology and magic all moved to block my projects……
I’m finished.
I shot to my feet.
"Karl!! And Lady Karia!!"
"Yes!"
"Tell me, Landor. Just give the order and I’ll burn them all to—"
"No, no. We’re not doing that. We’re going up to the capital. I need to soothe the people I’ve angered."
"How exactly do you plan to soothe them? Some of those nobles lost everything to your scams. Others were flogged and imprisoned for three years. Their grudges run deep."
"I’ll bring proper compensation, a sincere apology, and an offer they can’t refuse. Let’s go. The old wounds I’d forgotten are already festering in both factions. If I don’t calm them now, the damage later will be enormous."
It looked like I would have to kneel again. I immediately set out for the capital with the two of them.
Unlike the traditional provincial nobles who lived off their estates, the capital nobles were mostly professionals—experts in their fields, scholars, or officials.
Aside from the imperial relatives who received their titles by blood, these capital nobles fell into two broad groups: those who studied magic, science, and alchemy at the Magic Tower, and those who served as bureaucrats in law, administration, and justice.
In short, Adran and Selene led the two largest factions among the capital nobles. The first faction I visited was the one currently helping me the most.
Selene’s faction.
"I’ve come to apologize, Lady Selene. To every noble in your faction whom I’ve wronged."
"An… apology?"
Selene could not hide her surprise. Seeing the queen of high society this flustered so often was becoming a rare sight.
"Yes. I want to apologize to the capital nobles in your faction for the harm I caused them. Could you gather the heads of the families I swindled?"
Selene stared at me as though wondering whether this was truly the Landor she knew. She searched for some sinister scheme behind my words, but apparently found none.
"……Very well. I’ll summon them. But that is all I will do. No matter how much abuse or humiliation you suffer, I will not intervene. These are the consequences of your own crimes."
"I understand. That’s only fair."
I nodded. There was nothing else to be done. Even if I hadn’t committed the acts, the body’s previous owner had, so I had to bear the price.
Soon the heads of the noble houses in Selene’s faction that had suffered at my hands were gathered in one place.
Most came from families that had produced scholars for generations. They were wealthy, but correspondingly naive about the ways of the world.
That bastard Landor had exploited that weakness ruthlessly, swindling them to build his secret funds.
Naturally, the looks they gave me were anything but friendly.
"First, thank you all for coming. I asked Lady Selene to arrange this meeting because I wished to offer my apologies."
"Apologies? Don’t make me laugh!!! Do you even know what your scams did to my house?!"
At one noble’s shout, the rest rose in a chorus of angry voices.
"My estate was seized! My wife, my daughter, and all our servants were thrown out into the winter streets! If Lady Selene hadn’t helped us, we would have frozen to death!"
"You vile, wolfish bastard! What new scheme are you plotting this time?!"
"Whoever spread those flyers did us a favor! Now that everything’s public, it’s time you paid for every crime you committed!"
……The mood was undeniably hostile. Those Vineyard Party bastards had planned this well. If relations with both factions soured, the long-term damage would be severe.
"How dare you raise your voice—"
Karia, furious, reached for her sword, but I stopped her. Then I motioned for Karl Hansen and Karia to bow with me.
"I’m sorry. Truly sorry. I would kneel if I thought it wouldn’t make me look even more despicable."
At my formal apology, the shouting stopped.
None of them had expected the arrogant, vicious Landor to lower his head.
"It is true that I once committed these crimes. I used the money to fund the businesses I run today. I owe all of you a debt. Please send me a list of your losses. I will repay you tenfold."
"Tenfold!……"
Karl Hansen nearly exploded, but I clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Tenfold…… might be acceptable……"
"Ten times……?"
The sheer amount of money stunned the nobles into a quieter tone. Perfect timing. I pressed on.
"Furthermore! Although I have already provided ten million gold in research funds through Lady Selene, I wish to offer my personal apology as well. I will build you a brand-new Magic Tower! I will also spare no expense in supplying you with the finest experimental equipment and instruments you desire!"
"A… a new Magic Tower?"
"And equipment as well?"
"We’ve been needing a large-scale mana accelerator for the mana-stone purity experiments……"
"Can you really do that, Baron Landor?"
I nodded.
Honestly, the money was the least of my concerns.
They would gain better tools.
And I would gain new business opportunities from technological progress.
I had called it a personal apology, but I was treating it as an R&D investment.
"If this can ease your anger, what does a little gold matter? Besides, your research must succeed for the empire to prosper. Teleportation research, mana-stone processing research—I may be ignorant, but I’ve heard they are truly outstanding."
"I-is that so?"
"Yes. I will build you a new Magic Tower at my own expense. I hope this will help settle the matter."
"……A new tower and tenfold compensation……"
The atmosphere had softened when one noble whose anger still burned shouted at me.
"What are you plotting, Landor?! What scheme are you hatching now?! How many more people must shed tears of blood before you’re satisfied?!"
I met his gaze calmly.
"Yes. I do have one very wicked plan."
"I knew it—!"
"To make the empire strong and wealthy so that I can enjoy a peaceful, happy retirement. That is my wicked plan."
"……"
"I will not deny my past crimes. If necessary, I will atone for them forever. But please—do not deny my goal of strengthening the empire. I intend to create a country where every citizen can live happily."
"……You silver-tongued snake. Your tongue still works far too well. I’ll be watching you!"
Though he claimed he would watch me, the noble seemed slightly moved. Scholars were easy to handle that way.
They were experts only in their own fields and surprisingly innocent in everything else.
By pouring out gold, I managed to calm the boiling anger of Selene’s faction.
Now only Adran’s faction remained.
"Lord Landor."
"What is it, Karl?"
"Adran’s faction…… won’t be swayed by the same methods."
"I know."
I nodded.
If Selene’s faction represented the traditional capital nobility, Adran’s faction was a radical organization of young people.
Passionate young nobles who wanted to change the world, together with talented commoners blocked by their status—Adran had gathered them into his own force.
They believed laws and administration could reshape the world.
Adran’s faction consisted of young officials burning with fanatical loyalty to him and a fierce desire to reform the empire.
Offering them money the way I had before would only insult them.
"Then what will you do? We only have money, and they despise it."
"Money must remain secondary. What I can offer them is something else."
"What is that?"
"My silver tongue."
A moment later, Karl Hansen understood exactly what I meant.
"Please compile a list of the laws you believe the empire needs most urgently and send it to me. I will personally take it to His Majesty the Emperor and persuade him to enact them."
I offered my silver tongue to the young officials as compensation.